Sometimes you need comfort food. You know the drill - macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, hot fudge sundaes, and on it goes.
What makes it comfort food is its rich, soothing intake and the solid way it lands in your gut. The downsides to such are obvious.
But what if you could find comfort food that totally insulated you from life's harshest realities and yet didn't cost a fortune in either calories, fat or $$$?
I've got it.
It's hummus fava from the Hummus Place (http://www.hummusplace.com/) I love it for the warm, freshly made chickpeas and the puffy whole wheat pita. Not alot of chewing required - just the tender inhalation of food that tastes rich and creamy yet is neither. (Not a speck of dairy!) And wait, there are condiments too - delicious Mediterranean pickles (yes, they're different than your garden variety dill) and you can ask for and very graciously receive a ramekin of hot sauce flecked with herbs that will make the whole dish pop.
I also love the Shakshuka with its eggs stewing in a rich mix of tomatoes, peppers and onions. It comes in its very own skillet, fragrant with spice. When I am served, I don't need men, well-balanced children or money in the bank. Alas, at some point, the afterglow wears off and you must confront your collapsed 401 K. But no rush, there. Take as long as you need to digest.
They've got a lunch special that runs until 5 on weekdays: $7.50 for a main course hummus with one terrific appetizer like stuffed grape leaves bathed in yogurt mint sauce or crunchy health salad.
If you can't get to New York City, reach for the mac and cheese. Me? I can't wait to get back to the Hummus Place.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Coffee with Coconut Oil, Please
Ok. So times are tough all around. Get it.
But there are some things that are just not neogtiable - having some form of a milk product for your coffee is one.
I found myself in a theme park earlier this week (Picture legions of cranky children sporting ears and young girls in pink, yellow and aqua princess dresses.) The only product served with coffee is a non-dairy creamer. Not at that stand, not in that particular land but in the entire theme park - from main street to the frontier - there is no such thing as coffee with cream, half and half, or milk of any kind.
Might I get some from you, kind server, you who hails originally from Akron, Ohio? I see that you have some behind the counter there.
No.
Really, I can only get coconut oil for my coffee? That's the best you can do?
Oh, wait. Yes. You can buy a carton of milk from me for your coffee. That will be $2.14.
To have milk in my cofffee will cost me 2 additional bucks?
Actually, $2.14 to be exact.
But don't you think it's reasonable to expect that a dairy product would be available to me? Hey, even skim milk. Just something from a cow.
Jeremy arrived. He is the area manager and he listened to me without flinching, blinking or laughing out loud. (BTW, thank you Jeremy.)
That's right. This is what we serve with coffee everywhere.
Is there no one of the thousands who flood this park every hour who shares my outrage that we cannot have a dairy product with our coffee should we choose to? We are not all vegans, not that there's anything wrong with that. Nor are we stockholders in your entertainment conglomerate driven to wring shareholder value out of every transaction.
I'll put it in my end of day report.
Thank you Jeremy. And a shout out for your hand held trash picker - the one you used to pick up the sugar packet I dropped when you asked the server originally from Akron, OH to give me a small amount of milk in a cup.
As a mouse expects cheese, so do people want coffee with cream, please.
But there are some things that are just not neogtiable - having some form of a milk product for your coffee is one.
I found myself in a theme park earlier this week (Picture legions of cranky children sporting ears and young girls in pink, yellow and aqua princess dresses.) The only product served with coffee is a non-dairy creamer. Not at that stand, not in that particular land but in the entire theme park - from main street to the frontier - there is no such thing as coffee with cream, half and half, or milk of any kind.
Might I get some from you, kind server, you who hails originally from Akron, Ohio? I see that you have some behind the counter there.
No.
Really, I can only get coconut oil for my coffee? That's the best you can do?
Oh, wait. Yes. You can buy a carton of milk from me for your coffee. That will be $2.14.
To have milk in my cofffee will cost me 2 additional bucks?
Actually, $2.14 to be exact.
But don't you think it's reasonable to expect that a dairy product would be available to me? Hey, even skim milk. Just something from a cow.
Jeremy arrived. He is the area manager and he listened to me without flinching, blinking or laughing out loud. (BTW, thank you Jeremy.)
That's right. This is what we serve with coffee everywhere.
Is there no one of the thousands who flood this park every hour who shares my outrage that we cannot have a dairy product with our coffee should we choose to? We are not all vegans, not that there's anything wrong with that. Nor are we stockholders in your entertainment conglomerate driven to wring shareholder value out of every transaction.
I'll put it in my end of day report.
Thank you Jeremy. And a shout out for your hand held trash picker - the one you used to pick up the sugar packet I dropped when you asked the server originally from Akron, OH to give me a small amount of milk in a cup.
As a mouse expects cheese, so do people want coffee with cream, please.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
We Begin
Today I wove.
And you should too.
Why?
Because it forces you to use a part of your brain rusting since you put down your crayolas. For those of us who lack hand eye coordination, small motor skills and an affinity for detail - the skills you need to, say, clean the dark spaces between your keyboard rows with a toothpick every few years - it's a tango lesson for that part of the brain.
When you're done with your session, just two hours later, you have something to show for it that's original and can be used in real life. I am now using my thingie as a covering on my Zen bench.
And there's the sacred soothingness about being in a room filled with colored yarn and thread of every possible hue with your feet on the pedals of a primitive machine, going through the motions - literally - of ancient generations.
Consider doing it with friends. I did it with two mad genius women, Marta and Jane, and they were lightyears ahead of me in every possible way including helping me to feel good about my feeble creation. They made me feel especially clever about incorporating strands of random sequins in the warp - or is it weft?
As soon as I figure out how to use my digital camera, I will take a picture of it and paste it here.
In the meantime, think about visiting http://www.loopoftheloom.com/
And you should too.
Why?
Because it forces you to use a part of your brain rusting since you put down your crayolas. For those of us who lack hand eye coordination, small motor skills and an affinity for detail - the skills you need to, say, clean the dark spaces between your keyboard rows with a toothpick every few years - it's a tango lesson for that part of the brain.
When you're done with your session, just two hours later, you have something to show for it that's original and can be used in real life. I am now using my thingie as a covering on my Zen bench.
And there's the sacred soothingness about being in a room filled with colored yarn and thread of every possible hue with your feet on the pedals of a primitive machine, going through the motions - literally - of ancient generations.
Consider doing it with friends. I did it with two mad genius women, Marta and Jane, and they were lightyears ahead of me in every possible way including helping me to feel good about my feeble creation. They made me feel especially clever about incorporating strands of random sequins in the warp - or is it weft?
As soon as I figure out how to use my digital camera, I will take a picture of it and paste it here.
In the meantime, think about visiting http://www.loopoftheloom.com/
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